These days, more and more areas of our lives are moving into an online space. This has been true for years now, but it’s especially noticeable this year, during the COVID-19 pandemic. So many of us are nervous about contracting the coronavirus that we would rather stay home, consuming what we will from the safety of our laptops.
This has meant a huge boost for online platforms, whether small businesses, large corporations, or government entities. While staying at home will definitely keep you safer from COVID-19, it still comes with risks. In fact, many businesses have found themselves under fire from various cyber threats. According to a recent report by CNBC, cyber crimes rose dramatically in 2020—with breaches increasing by 273% in the first quarter of 2020, as compares to 2019.
There are many industries that can benefit from SOC as a service (security operations centers as a service). Having a dedicated security team of analysts who can manage any security incident with professionalism, is a huge deal for any company these days. SOC teams can even detect potential threats and vulnerabilities before they have an impact on a company’s bottom line, so the incident response is preemptive. Knowing that your cybersecurity is taken care of can give you peace of mind so that you can focus on improving your gross profit, not wondering which pirates and hackers are unleashing malware on your company.
Here are a few industries that would do well to find the best SOC provider and equip themselves with high-quality security services
Healthcare and Government Entities
Healthcare service providers, insurance companies, and government entities naturally have a lot of sensitive information. As such, they find themselves open to cyber threats. Many cyberattacks that are perpetrated on these and other entities are in the form of Ransomware. This is when hackers or other another cybershark plants malware on a system and denies access to computer files until a ransom is paid. Basically, a cybershark or other cybercriminals would use Ransomware to kidnap your data and hold it hostage. Since government entities and healthcare service providers are the last organizations we want who can’t access their data, it’s important that they take immediate action to protect themselves from cyber criminals.
Small Business Owners
As if small business owners didn’t have enough to worry about in 2020, with COVID-19 shutting down brick and mortar stores and profit margins plummeting, these businesses are actually some of the most vulnerable to cyber threats. Small business owners tend not to have enough net profit to exploit in order to invest in what they may see as a luxury, but these days security services are a necessity. In recent years, cyber criminals have been extra creative about finding new ways to exploit the cloud environment, and having a simple firewall just isn’t enough. Small business owners would do well to invest in an SOC team so that they can get alerts to potential threats and avoid a major security event that will bring down their whole business.
Another tip for small business owners is to invest in OKR software. OKRs (objectives and key results) provide a helpful framework for getting your house team aligned with the company goals so that you can maximize both your gross profit and net profit. Many vendors have whole teams who are working from home now, and it’s hard to keep all the employees on the same page. But when you work with OKR software like Profit offers, you and everyone else will get regular reports and have a clear idea about how to achieve even the most ambitious goals.
It’s possible to grow as a business, even in the age of the coronavirus. Keep these tips in mind, and avoid unnecessary security events by using SOC to monitor all business activity.
